By: Segula Digital
Ovadia Benishu

Ashtori Ha-parhi, illustration

The Christian Search for China’s Jews

Rumors of an ancient Jewish community in eastern China began with Jesuit journeys to the Chinese interior and intensified in search of a supposedly undoctored version of the Bible. But could the Confucian-inspired devotion to rites practiced in Kaifeng’s Temple of Purity and Truth still be considered part of Jewish tradition?

Noam Urbach

Lay of the Land

Banished from his native Provence, Ashtori Ha-parhi brought scientific tools acquired there to the land of Israel, becoming the first to match up Bible stories with the topography of the Holy Land

Amichay Schwartz

Royal Convert

Arriving in Jerusalem in the middle of a famine, Queen Helene of Adiabene saved the city from starvation and earned herself and her family a reputation as benefactors of the Jewish people. But who got her hooked on Judaism? And was she alone?

Tal Ilan

Jiří Langer: Hasid of Prague

Seeking an authentic Jewish identity, a young man left Prague for the Hasidic world of Bełz. On his return, he brought Bełz back with him, much to his family’s consternation. But was it inspiration he sought or companionship? The metamorphosis of Jiří Langer

Levi Cooper

Columns

Snapshots
This Month in History – Tammuz / Av
Brief History – Qing China

Quick Looks at Books – Jews in the Roman Period

Archives – Siegfried Marcus‘ first automobile

Tale of a Trail – Mount Scopus
Portrait of a People – Pieter Brueghel the Younger

What’s Next